Bridge the World

It is incredible how fast can time pass. It is already been 4 months of the 6 I should be in Japan...

I have been thinking about posting to this blog for a while but, it has proven to be so difficult! Most probably because I have immersed myself into my work as well as the routine of everyday’s life that made time vanish between the always crowded subway ride-to/from-work and the every weekend city escape. But before I go into more excuses, I will write something actually interesting about my experience in Japan.

In Oslo, work is something that happens between 8 or 9 am and finishes at 5, 6 or even 4 pm (for those more fortunate that can actually wake up and arrive to work at 8am). As Oslo is a small city, you complain if you have to take a bus or a train to get to work.. the preferred solution is to live in bike / walking distance to the office.

In Tokyo, work starts at 8 or 9 am for most people. In many companies, employees have to wait until their boss leaves the office for them to go home (even if they are not doing anything productive) so they may even work until midnight... and not just in exceptional cases, but more as a rule. Someone (reliable source whose identity I want to protect ) told me that it is normal to do overtime because it is the only way to raise a normal salary into something decent. Living within walking distance from work is consider as luxury. For example, Atsuko whom is a very nice and funny girl from the office, has to travel 2 hours in the morning to the office AND 2 hours to go back home. Some other people is fortunate enough to travel only for 30 mins. but it anyway includes at least one potentially crowded train ride!

Transportation in Tokyo is quite complicated. In many big cities, it is enough to look at the map of trains to know which is your best connection. Tokyo is not that simple! any map you find won’t show all lines available because trains are run by two or three different companies with very complicated lines and schedules. Your best bet is to use a mobile phone ...-yipppee!! for mobile Internet use in Japan- Anyway, you can use a couple of sites that work well if you cannot enter Japanese station names, for example: http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/index.html
Type the start destination and the end destination and it will give you a couple of options ranked mainly in price and time. If you don't know any stations, try "ikejiri-ohashi" in one field and "shinjuku" in the other, it will tell you the available trains from the Opera Japan office to the mega-station of Shinjuku.

And, here you have some pictures that are worth mentioning:

A kestrel stole my lunch

One of these guys stole my lunch in Kamakura! I had a chicken filled bread in my hands and was about to bite it when I felt a big rounded shaped shade and the sound of wings on my right side. In the time I could understand what was happening, a pretty big eagle stole my bread leaving only the aluminium wrapping and taking away what I had brought for lunch... needless to say I was hungry afterwards; surprised about seeing such a beautiful animal so close.. but still hungry.

Unknown robot cleaner from Norway sells in Japan

In Loft, a very cool store in Tokyo, I found a "robot house cleaner" that it is claimed to be invented in Norway.
did anyone know about this in Norway? How have I lived 6 years in Norway and have never seen it?

Prince Torkjel´s big give away

Torkjel felt like giving things away, including some house appliances... I hope his girlfriend be OK about his generosity.
More pictures of the same label on the coffee machine, the microwave, the fridge, the drinking water, a laptop and the stereo system my flickr account.

Taking the sun in Japan

No, that lady is not saving her life while attacked by the killer white towel. She is actually taking the sun... but everyone here has a big fear of getting any color as being white is considered beautiful, this creates a complete fashion of hats, jackets, gloves and clothes that deserves its own blog post later..

Opera logo in subliminal adds

Btw, we found the Opera logo in this store ... maybe it is one secret marketing strategy to get more people familiar with the Opera logo? (as absolut does with the bottle?)

Norske Opera

Found also this great "Norwegian Opera" poster: "I die, I die, I die... Opera, the art of overdoing it"

Mobile internet reinvented

This guy is showing us his own version of the mobile Internet... what he had in his phone was clearly not enough for him?

Two weeks have already passed and I cannot believe time goes so fast.
Before the trip there was so much work to finish in Oslo but, since the week of the departure, it has been about getting ready for the work in Tokyo, packing, moving, traveling, starting in a new office and getting a bit settled in the new place I call "home"... its said that "time goes fast when you have fun" and this is the feeling I have..

Picts from my first 2 weeks here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24849304@N00/sets/72157604213698381/


I only realized that I was leaving while looking by the window in that plane from Helsinki. With so bad weather outside, I could not be happier of the spring time that waited for me in Japan.
If you ever decide to make such a long trip, it might be a good idea to avoid sleeping the day before so you have to sleep in the plane. If you cant, enjoy the stoning view of snow pikes from the window while you are reminded
"not to grab" the wing, wonder why they give you metallic knives on board while you could not bring them from outside or enjoy a movie in "Castilian" while trying to figure out which one is the "Port of disembarkation".


When finally arriving to the Narita airport, it was very interesting to see how people respect more the "forbidden to smoke" sign than the "do not use mobile phones". I would have enjoy this more if I would have known that from now on, every restaurant or hotel room has the potential problem of stinking of smoke... God bless the one who passed the law forbidding to smoke indoors in Norway!


After the train/bus from the airport, it is all about finding your way in this net of train lines. Someone tried to explain me why there were so many private subway companies are and why they cannot agree in having a one common map but, I cannot still understand why hasn't someone realized it is a problem and make a common system (apart from the one in the mobile phones which unfortunately only works if you speak japanese...).
Something else I do not understand is why it is so hard to accept VISA cards for ATMs with the "VISA" logo.. I can only get money in post offices, citibanks or 7/11 stores.


In the less complaining-ish side of the story, the office here is great! It is located in a really cool neighborhood next to the river, bordered by many sakura trees (those that get pink at this time of the year), there are also so many nice small restaurants around where we get great lunch for around 1000 yen (aprox 50 nok). The office is a large space divided in two, one side for engineering and the other for sales and marketing and everyone has been super nice and friendly. After some days working, I felt something next to my leg and I was surprised to find the cutest robot dog ever, he likes it when I scratch under his head and I actually think he is learning to like me because he constantly comes next to me asking for attention (yes, machines are getting better in training their humans )


It is also very nice living close to the office, specially considering that my line is usually very crowded. It has been fascinating to see how many people can you still fit in an already crowded place if someone is pushing hard enough.

And I could not be luckier about the weather, while it is again snowing in Oslo here we have some early spring and we actually managed to have our first spring lunch in the park last week... the weather felt just like early summer in Norway. I am spending this week in Kyoto so will be posting more picts soon with the Kansai update..

Friday the 7th.
After a full day shopping I feel excited to start a new day in Guangzhou, south of China.
I finally decide to open my tired eyes at 10 and immidiately I start Opera as every morning on mobile....
What can I do today? My shopping excursion in Guangzhou is over and I need new destinations where to carry my HUGE backpack full of whatever brand new fashionable cheap clothes.
I google map with Opera Mobile on my Nokia E60 and.... hmmm what I see there!
Macau!! Not too far away...
Ok! Let's go! That's my destination for today . I grab all my staff and wear my cutest brand new shoes (that means with a bit of a high hill....not really practical but really fashionable). I do not care of taking dictionary, travel book or maps. I've 3 (Nokia E60, Nokia 2650, and yes, even iPhone) mobiles with me and I want to have a strong impact with what expects me there. To know the history, I'll get in contact with people, I'll look around, close my eyes, do a complete swing on myself while smelling, listening, wondering and.... PUF! Yes, I'll got an idea of where I'll be.
In case my imagination will not work, I can always check in wikipedia .

Time to go: my collegues and friends give to me a small card with written (in chinese characters) the bus station in guangzhou and a mysterious bus destination.
I'll not reach directly Macau but a chinese city on the borter with the little ex. colony.
With no clear idea of what expects me or any chinese communication skill, I leave!
I sort of manage to catch a bus and then .... what a wonderfull trip! Bananas trees, rice fields, coconuts trees, big rivers alternate continuously along the way. I cannot keep my lips closed for the wonder....
After 2 hours I arrive... Well, arrive.... the bus driver tells me that (somehow, no English spoken) ....
I can only see that I ended up in a huge mall (the bus just stopped in the mall's parking space), and that I am not in Macau yet.
Of course I end up to do some additional shopping (making my huge bag growing even more!), but that's the only way to ask people the way to Macau, isn't it .

I finally reach the ex. Portugese colony and I start looking around to understand where I ended up.
Everything is quite different.... No bicycle but lots and lots of scooters, no western people, very few turists, lots of old european buildings but no track of the old owners or their descendants...
And I walk, walk, walk, with my huge bag, my eyes looking into the buildings, people, cars, shops, streets.... But after a while, I can start feeling my legs tired and my backpack heaview and heavier so I decide to look for an hotel, a guest house, a pension, a hostel.... something to sleep on!!
But nothing!!!! While I was wondering around I got lost.
I am almost on the freeway, nearby the sea and no one to ask to...
But I have my 3 mobiles, my guts and after all I'm still a fully fashionable girl!

Anyway I need to take actions:
- I change shoes for more practical ones: not anymore high hills but fancy monkey shoes
- I take out the iPhone as I feel is great to listen songs: I need them to increase my mind strength!
- And now let's browse around! No, better not by walking since I'm already lost: let's take my Nokia E60, start Mini to have a quick idea of Macau's hotels and such... Hmm.... Impressivly fast!! But I still have no idea where I am
- Let's update facebook status to have help and (more than that) supports from friends! WOW! People are strangely supportive: they ask me more about my new shoes than where I ended up!!!
- Still LOST. Better to ask help to some more helpfull friend in this case: Opera Mobile (I did not do before to keep the phone bill down)... Ok now checking the maps I got an idea of where I am!!!!!


I follow the mobile map, the fresh sea, the wind and, more than that, my hotel hunting instinct!

Well... The result is: I end up in a Casino'! :O .... This becomes my very fashionable place to sleep for a nigth.
Of course, not before having made aware all my friends that I am safe, happy and... fashionable geeky via facebook

N.B. The picture was taken the day after when I decided to give up fashion (no more high hill shoes, no more fancy dress, and sleeping in extremly cheap hostel) for comphort and to avoid to be completly bankrupted!!!

First there was Marco Polo, then Cristoforo Colombo and last (but not least), another voyajer: Chiara!
Someone could object that the first 2 well known travellers did not discover anything, but for sure their stubborness and spirit of initiative increased the cultural and commercial exchange!
The 3rd one... Well the 3rd one is not as important as the other 2 co-nationals plus will not have such big impact on human history, but she spent 2 years in Norway studying the smart moves of Amundsen, learning about Nobile's mistakes while browsing and singing Opera.
Yes, the spirit is ready to join her co-workers in China trying to create together the bridge between Italy, Sweden, Norway and China (and a bit more undirectly Polland, United States, Korea, Japan....)!
Chiara does not speak a word of chinese, but she's very confident of her italian body language (I can say "I am starving" to almost everyone in the word!), of her good mood and of the people who are waiting for her in the East side of the world.
She has been project manager for a while for Series 60 and UIQ phones but for her China is not good enough as a challenge, so she's going to learn new things over there!
And, no, sorry! She can eat sharks, but she'll never try dogs, Pavel....
Hopefully I'll find lots of ponds there and upload pictures!
Part of her survival equipment for who wants to know:
- Italian cofee machine (you've to be ready in the morning)
- Opera Mini Beta on her Nokia E60 (ready for shooting pictures and broadcasting them to the blog! Really needed: in case I'm completly lost someone can see the pictures and try to find out where I ended up!)
- Opera for my UIQ device with Opera 9 for a full interaction with the maps when I am completly lost (thing that I like, but sometimes happen way too often)
- Opera on my laptop for fetching all the addresses that I'll forget to print out
- Some more other gadgets
- Hmmm maybe some italian cofee and Gløgg would not be too bad in China!
Too long post but too many things in my mind, but I'll not forget to look for Chinese Ponds!

We have tried eating a few strange things here in Beijing already, but yesterday Xiaolin and Thruth took us to a great hotpot restaurant and made us try some even more weird stuff, such as "blood tofu" and pig feet.

It tasted better than I thought it would, and we also had some great beef and lamb meat. More pictures from this restaurant visit can be found in the albums.